Why/How are the Sabres so bad?

[yave1964]

A little past the quarter turn the Sabres are sitting at 6-18 with 4 loser points for overtime losses. They sit dead last in the Eastern conference. The question is why?

 

  I really felt that Buffalo had a shot at competing for the third playoff spot in the leagues worst division, I felt they had a decent offseason, ridding themselves of guys like Gionta and bringing in Scandella, Beaulieu and Antipin to shore up the back end, Chad Johnson to push Lehner who is in the final year of a contract which should be motivation itself, Benoit Poulliot and Pominville were added to provide secondary scoring. On paper it appeared the team would have its best defense in a decade and with Eichel and Kane leading the offense should win more than they lose and be part of the conversation all year.

 

Wrong.

 

 The offseason additions really haven't fared too badly, Pouliot and Pominville are on pace for 20 goals each, Scandella has been a rock, Antipin and Beaulieu have been an improvement over the swill they have thrown out for years. Chad Johnson has been a bust in net but the rest have all ranged from adequate to good. Evander Kane is playing for his supper as an UFA easily having his best start in years and looking like a man hungry for a long term deal. O'Reilly has been a faceoff God and continues to be one of the most underrated two way centers in the game today. The problem is that almost to a man every other returning veteran has been bad, and that includes Eichel.

 

  Eichel to be fair has 7 goals and 19 points in 24 games, not really bad but nowhere near what was expected of him. Okposo and Moulsen continue to be shells of their former selves on the wing, Ristolainen was borerline awful and then injured and is having a lost season. This was supposed to be the year that Reinhart scored 60 points and turned into TJ Oshie, it is not happening. Lehner? Don't ask.

 

  This roster is dotted with veteran players picked up from elsewhere who used to be good or were supposed to be good a long time ago somewhere but haven't panned out, the reason they have so many reclamation projects is because in spite of consistently being among the worst teams in the league they have drafted poorly. One player per draft class (other than Eichel) for the past decade or so has at best been a 4th liner or 3rd pair defender, perennial underwhelming players such as McCabe, Girgensons, and the ilk occasionally make a small ripple but not a splash. The wrong Nylander toils in the organization and already whispers are starting that he isn't going to be any good. This team lacks direction in the draft, in trades and in all areas.

 

  I made the mistake of thinking that the Sabres might turn the corner with the influx of veteran leadership, mistakingly taken veteran to equate with improvement but this team is stuck on a slow train to nowhere. Kane will probably be gone at seasons end and they will sign Lehner to a six year thirty million dollar deal or some such stupidity, lol. I believed in Eichel and Risto and the moves they made. Never again.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

You know what, @yave1964 ?

I had a write up partly done to try and answer the question "Why?", but the further I got into it, the more I scratched my head, the more I scratched my head, the more flakes I let loose from my scalp, making me realize I needed to upgrade to a better shampoo.

 

Then it hit me:  Who the hell knows what is going on with those wacky Sabres? And why should I try to sit here and try to figure it out....that is the GM's job.

 

To put it short, outside of Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel (based on what he is SUPPOSED to be doing) up front, and Risto, Scandella, Beaulieu, and Bogosian (if he can ever be healthy that is) on defense, this team, honestly, has nuthin.

Nada. Zilch. Squat. Ni un cojon. 

 

Some of those other vets are either too self absorbed (Kane), washed up (Moulsen and Pominville), streaky (Okposo and also Pomminville), or slow (Gorges) to be counted on to carry the mail for any length of time.

 

That leaves the good players I mentioned to basically do it all on their own.....and we all know how that usually works out for teams in the NHL.

 

Also, development of the younger players who actually have a shot to be something good in the league gets shot right to hell because they are now pressed into having to do things that the alleged vets are supposed to be doing.

 

The goaltending isn't "terrible", but of course, it isn't great either....and without much help going on in front of them (team can't score enough, gives up way too many chances, is terrible on the PP and is middling as a PK unit), it puts the goalies squarely in the realm of "mediocre to passable".

 

Oh look, maybe I did come up with reasons this team is so bad after all.......sorta.

 

I honestly expected Buffalo to be better than this slop they got going on, and I know injuries have played a role yet again with this team, but barring some ridiculous turn around towards the end of this season leading into next, I think it will be a few more seasons before this team is relevant to any sort of playoff chase and/or conversation.

 

Head scratching indeed.....and yes, I will spend a bit more money on better quality shampoo.....this stuff I am using now is drying my poor follicles up like nobody's business.......... kinda like the Sabres are drying up their fanbase's patience......  

[Buffalo Rick]

To  me Housley has to be held accountable and should be fired now.  I cannot stand by him.  No team in Sabres history has been this bad given the talent present on the roster.  I do not think Housley has handled the team well at all.  If Ruff was here we would be at least competitive.   Front page of ESPN's NHL page has two articles on the Sabres and one is on Botteril's moves today.  Getting Wilson from the Red Wings and putting Moulson on waivers. I do not think Housley can survive this much longer.

[xerox copies]

Sabres  are still dealing with the mistakes of former management. We gave up a lot to get Kane, for one good season, surprising his contract season. Another first round pick to get Lehner, a bandage and a bit of a dud, think Sens picked Colin White with the pick we sent them. Finally the #2 pick Rienhart has been a big disappointment, the only guy I am excited about seeing is Nylander the rest of this youth movement seems like downers. To think Eichel figured he was in the same league as Mcdavid and Mathews, he should be good but looks  not great.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

2 hours ago, xerox copies said:

Sabres  are still dealing with the mistakes of former management. We gave up a lot to get Kane, for one good season, surprising his contract season. Another first round pick to get Lehner, a bandage and a bit of a dud, think Sens picked Colin White with the pick we sent them. Finally the #2 pick Rienhart has been a big disappointment, the only guy I am excited about seeing is Nylander the rest of this youth movement seems like downers. To think Eichel figured he was in the same league as Mcdavid and Mathews, he should be good but looks  not great.

 

Pretty good, short, to the point, and reasonable take.

Welcome to the forum!

[xerox copies]

Thanks tropicalfruitgirl been a Sabres fan all my life. Have to say this has been one of the most disappointing seasons I can remember. The # one pick in this years draft is a game changer, Dahlen should be our goal, top 3 picks all look good.

[jammer2]

18 hours ago, xerox copies said:

the only guy I am excited about seeing is Nylander the rest of this youth movement seems like downers.

 

 Rumor has it Buffalo management is considering letting Nylander play for Sweden in the upcoming World Jr's. He had 12 pts in the last tourny, he stands to dominate the next one, cause Sweden will always have top-notch forwards to group him with. As a Canadian, I'm concerned. We will have a great team as always, but the Sabres might just give Sweden a ticking time bomb for us. 

 

 Welcome, we needed a realistic Sabres fan on here...lol!  Just kidding HJ...kinda sorta.